Diego Maradona took a World Cup semi-final place from England in 1986 and today he took the urine. Argentina's new head coach told a captive audience in Glasgow that it was hypocritical of the English to vilify him for the Hand of God when Sir Alf Ramsey's side had bent the rules to win their own World Cup at Wembley two decades before. A warm reception is anticipated for the 48-year-old when he steps into international management against Scotland tomorrow night .

Maradona's accusation was delivered with mirth rather than menace as he held his first besieged official press conference since being unveiled as the surprise successor to Alfio Basile earlier this month. His first game brings him into confrontation with Terry Butcher, the Scotland assistant manager who was part of the England team beaten by Maradona's duplicity and brilliance in Mexico 22 years ago and who this week expressed a lingering wish to punch the former Argentina captain for that infamous first goal.

"I don't know why Butcher is taking this attitude," said Maradona, rolling his eyes and feigning hurt when informed by a translator that George Burley's number two will not be shaking his hand at Hampden Park. "I am fine with people who are fine with me and I don't understand why Butcher takes this attitude. Let Butcher get on with his life and I will get on with mine. If he doesn't shake my hand I will still be alive the next morning. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it."

A female journalist then asked whether he would not feel resentment at being cheated out of a World Cup quarter-final. Maradona paused, then smiled, then drew a parallel between the Hand of God and Geoff Hurst's second goal against West Germany in the 1966 World Cup Final. "I say to the young lady, England won a World Cup with a goal that never crossed the line. It was plain to everyone who saw it that it never went in, so I don't think it's fair that everyone should judge me when stuff like that went on." Warming to his theme, Maradona held his hands a foot apart and added: "It was this much before the line. They just never used to have action replays in those days." Cue raucous laughter from the Scottish and Argentinean contingent inside the Radisson Hotel.

England-baiting aside, there was a seriousness to Maradona's address befitting a man with his troubled history and a manager who, prior to taking on the role of leading one of international football's superpowers, had overseen just 23 games from the sidelines as coach of Deportivo Mandiyu and Racing Club in the mid-1990s. The legendary player dismissed the suggestion he has plenty to prove as coach of an Argentina side that has won only one of its last eight matches and lost its last World Cup qualifying game to Chile.

"I don't feel under pressure at all," said Maradona, who will work alongside his World Cup winning coach, Carlos Bilardo, in the national set-up. "If I hadn't accepted the offer I would have been a coward and I didn't want to shy away from the challenge. We have a long hard road ahead of us, it is not going to be easy, but the Argentinean national team needed someone to guide and help them and now we are on a mission together. Hopefully we will have a collective experience on the road to South Africa."

Inexperience is not the only charge levelled against Maradona since his appointment, with his temperament also on trial in the international spotlight. As a player he blamed a failed drugs test at the 1994 World Cup on a FIFA-led conspiracy to hound him from the game while his cheerleading displays at the 2006 World Cup in Germany are clearly ill-suited to the technical area.

"I am the manager of Argentina now and I'm not going to get involved in anything like that," he said of football's politics. "As for the touchline, it depends on how the team are playing. If they are making me feel safe and sound then I'll be fine. If they are making me nervy then maybe I will behave like you saw in Germany."

Maradona scored his first international goal against Scotland at Hampden Park in 1979 and flirted with the possibility of one day managing in Britain. He also refuted the theory that great players do not make great coaches. "Cruyff showed in his time with Barcelona, with what he achieved there, that that can be the case," he reasoned.

It was when asked to describe his own personal journey, one that has entailed cocaine addiction and a fight for his life in a Cuban clinic offered by Fidel Castro, that Maradona gave the shortest reply of all. "I get up every morning, simple as that," he said. "I get up every morning."

1. Is Gabriel Agbonlahor the new Michael Owen?

The Aston Villa striker is still raw but recent performances, not least that in the defeat of Arsenal on Saturday, have suggested there is more to his game than breathtaking pace. The 22-year-old has the speed of a young Owen and Capello will enjoy experimenting with such gas up front as well as on the flanks. Agbonlahor singed his markers throughout at the Emirates, and even out-stripped Theo Walcott - no mean feat - at one stage to regain possession. Yet his pace was hardly revelatory and it his coolness in front of goal that remains questionable. His goal tally only just managed to squeeze into double figures in the last two campaigns. This term has already yielded eight goals, hinting at plenty more to come, and, while it remains to be seen whether he will ever be able score at Owen's rate for clubs and country, it is a start. Martin O'Neill remarked how the forward's development had been "staggering" in the last two years. Berlin will offer an indication of progress made, and a taster of what is to come.

2. Can Ashley Young prove an international class left winger?

Capello appears more comfortable with the pace of Theo Walcott on the right flank than the deeper invention of a David Beckham, or even a David Bentley, though the Italian must crave allying the Arsenal winger's speed with similar incision on the opposite flank. Young may be the closest thing he has to a mirror image. The £9.65m signing from Watford has three caps, the last of which was as a substitute in Trinidad back in June.

This will be his first involvement this season with his display at Arsenal last weekend, when he missed a penalty but recovered his poise so impressively, having at last provided some evidence that he can impose his qualities on the Premier League's better sides. That had been a common criticism up to then: Young's threat has been blunted by canny defences, particularly away from Villa Park. While his delivery can still be hit and miss, his supply-line to John Carew has generally been outstanding and a real weapon in Villa's armoury. He may feel more at home in Berlin with Agbonlahor also in the line-up, but there is pace, trickery and invention to be tapped in the winger. Capello will be seeking such qualities.

3. Is Michael Carrick an international midfielder?

Carrick should be Capello's type of player. A fine passer, sitting deep and content as he pings possession accurately and metronomically, there is real class when he is performing at his peak. He has won consecutive Premier League titles and a Champions League winners' medal since his £18.6m move to Manchester United yet, while he is picked for his club when fit, England have rarely managed to eke the best from him.

This will be his first appearance under Capello, his involvement in the summer's friendlies against the United States and Trinidad wrecked by a foot injury. It is no coincidence that this will also be the first time in four years that neither of the national team's first-choice midfielders, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, is involved. In their absence, this is an opportunity. Carrick has the quality to thrive, but he has never imposed himself sufficiently on this stage to warrant regular inclusion. He wil presumably sit alongside Gareth Barry, and that is a combination that offers a sense of security. Impress at the Olympic stadium and Capello may have another quandary to solve when next he selects his midfield.

4. What are his options at right-back?

England have been frail at right-back since Gary Neville succumbed to injury and retreated, surely for good, to the periphery after accruing 85 caps. Wes Brown has been considered a first-choice by Capello, playing in the major contests under the Italian, but his ankle injury offers Glen Johnson a chance to prove his worth against impressive opponents. The former West Ham defender made very little impact at Chelsea but, like so many other cast-offs, was revived by Harry Redknapp last season and has excelled as an attack-minded, marauding full-back at Portsmouth. Yet there remains defensive vulnerability in his game which might, yet, offer others a route into the England first-team.

Intriguingly, the Under-21 defender Michael Mancienne - more normally a centre-half - has been employed by Capello in training at right-back, a position he played at times while on loan at Queen's Park Rangers last season. His pace and stature may suit the role. Then there is Micah Richards, a centre-back at club level but a full-back for his country whose athleticism has served him well, particularly with his positioning occasionally awry. Two of the three will surely be offered an appearance tomorrow and, with Brown effectively a converted centre-half himself, the chance to stake a long-term claim for the role.

5. Is the November friendly an option worth taking up?

This week has been as much a political exercise as a training camp for Capello. His insistence that Steven Gerrard was assessed by England's medical staff having been prematurely ruled out of the friendly by Liverpool was an attempt to reassert his authority over club managers disgruntled that their best players have been dragged away for what more than one has described as "a pointless friendly".

Sven Goran Eriksson abandoned the concept of a November friendly back in 2002 when club and country tensions were at their height, choosing instead to gather his squad in Aylesbury for a practice game. An England XI duly beat an England XI 1-0, Darius Vassell scoring the only goal, and the club managers were appeased. If Capello learns nothing from Wednesday's game, and is not even offered answers to any of the questions above, then he, too, might wonder what the point is of this quirk of the international calender.

The new Argentina coach Diego Maradona this afternoon declared his intention to bring the World Cup back to his homeland more than 20 years after his greatest triumph as a player. Argentina have failed to reach even the semi-finals of the World Cup since Maradona inspired them to glory in 1986 by producing arguably the greatest series of performances by an individual in any team sport. They currently lie third in the South American qualifying league for the 2010 edition, seven points behind leaders Paraguay, yet Maradona believes his team can be champions.

"Finishing in the top four doesn't interest me, I want to be first," he said. "With the group of players we have that should be that target."

Maradona was speaking ahead of his first match as his country manager, which comes tomorrow night against Scotland, the country where, coincidentally, he scored his first international goal back in 1979 and where he is still widely revered for the ingenuity he displayed throughout a dazzling playing career that, of course, included the infamous 'Hand of God' goal against England. "I'm happy to be back in Scotland after so long away. I'm aware of how popular I seem to be with Scottish people and I will try to repay them by giving them a great spectacle tomorrow night. I hope it will be a feast of football."

Maradona has enjoyed a rapturous welcome since arriving in Glasgow yesterday but one member of the Scotland set-up who will not be offering much hospitality is assistant manager Terry Butcher, who yesterday announced he has not forgiven the Argentinan for his infamous goal against England and will refuse to shake his hand tomorrow night.

"I don't know why he's taken this attitude," said Maradona. "But I'm not worried. Let Butcher get on with his life and I'll get on with mine."

Maradona's predecessor, Alfio Basile, resigned from the post in October following a 1-0 defeat by Chile, and Maradona admitted he has plenty of work to do if he is to fulfil his ambition of emulating Germany's Franz Beckenbauer and Braziil's Mario Zagallo by winning the World Cup both as captain and manager.

"A lot of changes need to be made, not just in terms of tactics and players but also in terms of approach to an extent," said Maradona. "What I really want is to have the players happy to wear the shirt of Argentina and to be part of the set-up.

Despite his immense popularity, Maradona's appointment has not met with universal approval in Argentina, where some doubters have questioned the wisdom of entrusting the reins to someone with no managerial experience. But maradona insists he feels no pressure. "I am very proud to be manager of the national side and I want to find a place in the players' hearts. If I hadn't accepted the offer I would have been a coward, I didn't want to shy away from it. I know it's going to be a long, hard road but hopefully the players and I are going to enjoy a great collective experience in South Africa."

Asked how he envisages his team playing, Maradona suggested Barcelona prodigy Leo Messi may be given a role somewhat similar to the one in which Maradona himself used to excel. "He [Messi] needs to have freedom," said Maradona. "We know he can convert chances but I want to see him all over the parkl, sometimes as far as three-quarters of the way back. He's a great passer as well as a great finisher and we want to see that."

Throughout the press conference, his first since his appointment, Maradona looked sombre but relaxed. His past drug and medical problems are well known and when asked how he was feeling generally, he replied simply: "I get up every morning."

It is nearly a year since Floyd Mayweather Jnr landed the perfect left-hook counter to Ricky Hatton's tired chin in one terrible round on one terrible night in Las Vegas and reminded him of the dangerous subtleties of his profession. At the time of writing, it is only hours since Mayweather's father, Floyd Snr, doled out more pain to the Mancunian light-welterweight, who is seeking to rebuild his career in America, where he is loved, and in his own mind, where the jury is out. This time there were few witnesses as a tough, skinny old man threatened serious damage to Hatton's exposed ribs with a medicine ball in a private gym down a side street on the eastern outskirts of the same city.

You would have thought Hatton had seen enough of the Mayweathers. Perhaps there is a sub-conscious masochism at work, employing Old Floyd to conduct a thorough examination of the resolve and technique that was broken down last December by Young Floyd. Maybe Old Floyd is just the best. That's what he tells everyone. Plenty of people agree.

As the trainer's bony arms raise the heavy leather ball above his head, his eyes widen in gleeful anticipation of an unanswered strike on the prone, pale body lying on the bench in front of him, much as they might have done when he spotted an opening during a distinguished career that brought him 29 wins as a welterweight in 36 fights between 1974 and 1990. "Christ Floyd," Hatton yelps, as his trainer drives the flattened ball into the gap between the bottom of his ribs and the top of his hip, "you're a bloody sadist!"

Half an inch either way, or with the fighter relaxing his tightened abs for the wrong split-second, and the sound of crushed ribs would reach beyond the doors of the desert gym and all the way back to the money guys at the MGM Grand Hotel. The ring there is the scene of Hatton's worst experience and the place where he will try to re-establish his fight cred this Saturday night, against the slick but powder-puff puncher from Brooklyn, Paulie Malignaggi.

Las Vegas is a town that encourages gamblers but does not forgive them. It is the same with boxing, and the risk in the gym is as real as that of the fight, as much a part of the process as the contesting of a title or the blocking of a hook. Gambling on how much he has left is part of the torture Hatton, not long turned 30, is inflicting on his body and spirit. Malignaggi, who is no Mayweather (Young - or even Old) in terms of power or presence, is a threat contained almost wholly in his potential to embarrass rather than hurt.

Hatton needs no reminding that this is a throw of the dice totally unlike the one he took against his trainer's son in this town last December. Then his swagger and demeanour won him the pre-fight edge, as 35,000 of his supporters swamped Las Vegas. The awareness of vulnerability has become more apparent since defeat, towards the end of a career that started in 1997, 45 fights ago. He admits he almost walked away from boxing after his sub-par comeback against Juan Lazcano in Manchester six months ago - and he will have no problem doing so if he cannot beat Malignaggi. "There wouldn't be much point carrying on if I couldn't win against him," says the man who the other day urged the unbeaten Joe Calzaghe to call it a day after his one-sided win over Roy Jones Jnr in New York, despite the real possibility of one more big payday for the Welshman at home.

Yet Hatton's dilemma mirrors Calzaghe's. Losing to a fighter whose punch does not remotely match his clout at the box-office would do more than wreck Hatton's self-belief; it would kill stone-dead his prospects of a mega-showdown outdoors in the UK next summer with the winner of the hoped-for fight of the year: the one-time six-weight champion Oscar De La Hoya against four-weight phenomenon and current pound-for-pound world best Manny Pacquiao in the same MGM Grand ring on December 6. "It doesn't bear thinking about," says Hatton. And, unless prompted, he doesn't. His focus is frightening. He looks in terrific shape, with only a few pounds left to shed to hit the 10-stone limit.

"The change in regime is something I needed, very much so," Hatton says. "I was feeling down, to say the very least, after the Mayweather fight. I got the next fight out of the way, but it wasn't of the standard I expect, although I did have a chest infection." Weak or not, Hatton, having been knocked out by Mayweather, was wobbled twice late in the fight by a 33-year-old non-puncher in Lazcano, who was coming off a points loss to Vivian Harris fully 15 months earlier.

"Thoughts were going into my head: have I seen better days, am I past it? I was seriously considering hanging up my gloves. I needed a training camp like this to reassure me. Floyd says I'm one of the quickest learners he's ever worked with. He says I've handled the sparring partners a lot easier than people like [his one-time fighter] Oscar De La Hoya have. My confidence has skyrocketed. No disrespect to Billy Graham; Father Time caught up with him. But there's a lot left in the tank for me."

So he did what a lot of beaten champions do: he looked for answers elsewhere. "I've slowed it down a bit with Floyd, using my jab, avoiding punches better. I'm still putting immense pressure on my opponents. Just more polished, on the technical side. Floyd has brought out what I knew I had in me all along."

Old Floyd, practised in the rhetoric of the American fight game, says, "I think Malignaggi's a wimp. And I think Ricky's gonna be his pimp. Seriously, though, I think Ricky should be too good for him. Malignaggi might be a little faster but ... he ain't got what it takes, simple as that."

Which is easy for him to say.

ON DECIDING TO RETURN TO COMPETITIVE CYCLING

What are your main reasons for making this comeback now?

There are two parts to it. There's the physical, competitive part but there's also the [Cancer] Foundation part. But I had to know that I would be competitive before I went out and did this because otherwise it would have kind been a joke. Of course there may still be some unknown there although I think I'll be strong - because I'm strong-willed. I had been mulling it over before racing in Leadville. But it was not very serious and I had not told many people about it. It was just a wild idea.

Had you been missing the intensity of cycling? Is this, fundamentally, why you've come back to racing again?

It's been a while. This last summer it was three years [since his last Tour de France]. And in all of the other summers I never felt that. You would think in the first summer out I'd really feel it badly and then with the next one it would diminish a little with time. But, with me, the first two or three summers I went without thinking much about it at all. And then all of a sudden it came back. Those other summers I wasn't this fit. But this summer I wanted to get fit because I wanted to run fast in Chicago - I really started training hard. And that's what did it. That daily ritual of exercise, of getting fit, of really being in tune with your body got me thinking. So there wasn't one single moment.

Any doubts?

[Laughs] I spoke to the board, which is my kids and my ex-wife, and none of them had any doubts. They were totally supportive. My kids, obviously, were [supportive] but I really needed my ex-wife because I respect her a lot and we're really close. I didn't know what she would think. But she was overwhelmingly supportive. And then beyond that people who manage my career, who run the Foundation, I needed to talk to them. As with anything there is going to be up and downsides to it. There's going to be natural negative factors that you have to consider but [he takes a deep breath] you sit down and you look at it and you think, on balance, this is a positive thing overall. That's the beauty of this comeback. You lay out different scenarios in your head. What if you won the Tour again? Or the Giro? Or if you won them both? Or you lost them both? You lay it all out and I'm still up for it."

What about Chris Carmichael, your main cycling coach for the last 20 years?

Chris was there at Leadville so he was in on it pretty early.

Did Chris have any doubts?

He had no doubts it could be done but I think he was concerned that maybe I shouldn't do it or maybe I should just let it go. He doesn't have those any doubts anymore.

LEADVILLE

Did the Leadville Trail in August spark your decision to make your comeback? Or had you already made up your mind to get back on the bike?

The main realisation was that I could still be competitive. I was so strong in myself and got myself into a pretty decent shape pretty quickly. Before that race I had a couple of weeks on the bike - but before that it was just running, more than anything.

Is Leadville a particularly tough race?

Leadville climbs 12,500 feet. It's crazy. You do a lot of climbs and I felt good the first six hours. It was only in the last hour I ran out of fuel because I hadn't done enough miles.

How long did the race last?

We did just under seven hours I think. I finished just behind Dave Wiens, a former world champion whose whole season revolves around that race. He's a knock-back guy, older now, but this is his race. We were together all the way and then I said, 'Dave, you gotta go …'

I guess the pain of that last hour was not as bad as what you endured while running your first New York marathon in 2006?

Marathons are hard because of the physical pain, the pounding on the muscles, joints, tendons. I mean New York in '06 was a kind of hell. I ended up having stress fractures in my shins, which I probably started with, so just the pain of that! It started as a subtle pain, as an annoyance, and it developed into ice-picks in the shins. The last 5-6 miles … [pulls a face] I couldn't have taken another step [at the end]. But with cycling if you don't do those long rides you just don't have the endurance factor. I had only done 3-4 hour rides.

You've said before that losing is like dying … but, this time, you probably didn't feel too bad coming second at Leadville?

I told people I'd be happy with top 10. In my own mind I was thinking maybe top five - on my best day top three.

ON THE MEDIA SUSPICION

Media reaction is going to be heavily laced with doubt - in contrast to someone like Bradley Wiggins who seems very excited about your return to the Tour. [Brad and Mark Cavendish, who won four stages last year, will both be riding hard on the Tour next year]

He's great, a fantastic pursuit rider. Cav [Mark Cavendish] is crazy!

But, as I've told you, many in the media are describing your return as something of a freakshow, a horrorshow, a disgrace…it's hard to know who to believe?

I don't care who you believe but that's the stuff you have to lay out when you consider the negatives. There's no rule, no law, no regulation that says you can't come back. So I have every right to come back. But I'd love to talk to these guys. I love situations like that. I'll say OK, I understand you disagree with this decision and at the end of the day we might have to agree to disagree. But it's my right to come back. And it's my right to put out this global [cancer] initiative and to try and implement it. If you don't like it, so be it. I like it - and I'm gonna do it. And I think it's going to be successful. And I think the impact on my sport and on cancer survivors around the world is going to be positive. So at the end of the day I don't care what you think - that's what I would say. So, yeah, there's definitively been some backlash but we knew that was going to happen. Quite frankly it would be weird if everyone was on our side here."

2009 SCHEDULE

You start the year in Australia, which is a new venture for you?

I've never ridden in Australia. I went to the Olympics but nothing else. I like Australia. I liked it when I was there. I like Australians as people and I felt I needed to start racing earlier. That's the reason I wanted to go. Obviously I've missed race days the last three years so you have to make up for that. You can't simulate race days - the speed and the pressure in and around a race. I mean 200 guys go down the road very fast. So it's different.

Winning will not be vital in Australia - will it more be a case of getting your racing fitness back up to the old level?

Obviously I don't dream about winning the race overall because I don't think I will. But can you be competitive? I like to think I can. But I have no idea what to expect, no clue. I don't even know what the course looks like. It's more just an opportunity to get racing again.

And why have you chosen to racing in the Giro in Italy - when every other year in the past you've concentrated on the Tour de France?

Several things. I regret not riding the Giro before, but their 100th anniversary and starting in Venice and finishing in Rome made it irresistible. Again, that's the beauty of this comeback. I've lived in the Giro [Italy] for a portion of my career. I have friends and supporters there, I think. And if the Tour happens I think the Giro will be good preparation for that. But I'd like to be competitive at the Giro. I'd like to be one of the top guys.

This is a completely new schedule, for you, riding the Giro before the Tour?

I've never done that. In the past we had this set system - and it worked so well that if we'd changed it people would've said 'Oh he's a fool, he's doing the Giro' because you've got a programme that's been running and working so well so why change it? And we had a sponsor who had no interest in the Tour of Italy. It was an American sponsor and all they care about was the Tour de France. That's all that readers of the New York Times know, and all that people in Omaha or LA know - so for an American-sponsored team that's all they want.

So what is your exact schedule for 2009?

I go to Australia, Tour of California, a bit of training block there, and then I race in France in late March, in the Criterium International, then back for my training, then the Tour of Romandie in Switzerland and then the Giro and then I break and then the Tour … I still don't know."

ON ASTANA

Is Alberto Contador [lead rider at Astana] cool about you coming back?

I don't know. I haven't talked to him. And I haven't seen him. I'm going to see him in camp in a few weeks. I only know what I read and it's been well documented.

He's hedging his bets?

He's hedging a little and that's understandable. But I try not to believe too much of what I read. When it comes to issues like this I'm not normally relaxed but, you know, with this one I'm pretty relaxed. There are a couple of things here. I could not have raced against Johan Bruyneel - I had to race on his team. And I'm on this team because of Johan and it's a great team. And we just have to support the best rider. If it's me I hope and assume they'll support me and if it's Alberto then I'm going to support him 100%. If it's John Doe I'm going to support John Doe. I know the laws of cycling better than most. So I try to be pretty chilled out. I suspect it will resolve itself - and I have other things I need to worry about.

THE TOUR

Are they any doubts about you being allowed to compete on the Tour?

There are no restrictions or limitations. Astana will be invited. If I want to go then I go - and there will be no reason why I can't go. I haven't done anything. I understand certain people in France and in cycling might have that perception but the reality is that there's nothing there.

Is there any question mark about your participation?

It's my own question mark. And it's still just a question mark. It's nothing else. I would like to be competitive. It's not a game and I'm not trying to toy with anyone here - but I don't want my participation to be a distraction for what we're ultimately trying to do on the Live Strong side of things. And at the same time… Personally, I don't want to enter an unsafe situation - but you see all this stuff coming out of France. There are some aggressive, angry emotions. If you believe what you read my personal safety could be in jeopardy. Cycling is a sport of the open road and spectators are lining that road. I try to believe that people, even if they don't like me, will let the race unfold.

Are you worried some nut might shoot you?

That would be really bad! Let's not think about that one. But, listen, Eddie Merkyx would have won six Tours if he hadn't been punched. It happens to the best of us. Eddy broke a rib, fell over, and was out of the race. I try not to think about that stuff.

So there are people who say they could potentially attack you?

Yeah [little laugh]. Yeah. There are directors of French teams who have encouraged people to take to the streets [long, meaningful pause] … elbow to elbow. It's very emotional out there, you know, very tense. I get emotional about certain things but you know not this one. If I could sit across this table where we're sitting and talk to this French director, or your cycling friends, you know what I would say? Just fucking relax. Just relax. We're talking about bike racing here. We're not talking about your mother. We're not talking about God. We're not talking about war. We're not talking about you losing every dime that you ever had in your life. We're talking about bike-racing. So get some perspective. I understand you've got your feelings but we've got to move forward here. And we will. But I have to face that reality. And it's a shame because I have such fond memories of the Tour. You know you look around this room and you see all these cups. There's only space for six of them up here - but the seventh one is over there. I have a lot of fond memories and I just don't want to deal with drama.

You saw [President] Sarkozy about your riding in the Tour?

I saw him in NY. But Sarkozy is a politician. He's the President but he's also a politician so his staff advise him.

So he'll go with public sentiment?

His staff would - but I don't think he will. He's publicly stated that Lance Armstrong is the greatest athlete of all time and that's not a popular opinion to have in France. My poll numbers in France are not good so I appreciate him being supportive but beyond him his staff and the cabinet would not be supportive.

You've clearly long been aware of the animosity towards you in France - even if there are some cheers for you along the roadside?

You hear the boos loudest and you sure feel it when they spit on you. You gotta keep in mind that the Tour is a global event so the roads of France are not purely lined by the French. You have a lot of Germans who have a lot of emotions because of all the times I went head-to-head with [Jan] Ullrich. You've got Basque in Pyrenees, the Belgians, the Italians, the Dutch, the Swiss, the Americans, the Australians - so you hear a lot of support. And a lot negative stuff as well. And the craziest thing, and I can't dissect this in my mind, is that I could do the Tour de France and two weeks before I would do a race in Provence, in the Alps, the Dauphine de Libre, which is a big race in France, and I won it several times. And I always loved that race and the Dauphine was always very supportive of me. I would not get one boo and then two weeks later it was a whole other situation - even when you came back to that same region. At the Tour you bring in a much more international crowd. But I guess it would be silly if you rode down the road and everyone was blowing you kisses - that would be weird. It's professional sports. That's the intensity of the game and people have personal favourites, the cowboys and the Indians, the good guys and the villains.

[Eddy] Merckx was tremendously unpopular in France. Not being French, and being competitive with other French guys at the time, he was perceived as taking away victory from those guys. Anyway, I like the country and the people - the ones I know well I love 'em to death. I love what the event stands for. I love the fact that it's fucking hard. The best man always wins. But do I need to go and put my health at risk and jeopardise the success of this - no.

What does your gut tell you?

I don't have any gut feeling. I haven't even started racing yet. I just think it's healthy to take it off the table. Time out. Relax. And let me get going in Australia and elsewhere and we'll see, but if that goes well then you have to think that you'd want to go to the biggest bike race in the world. We can all understand that.

CONFRONTING THE DOUBTERS

With Don Catlin testing you and publishing the results online is this part of your aim to silence the doubters once and for all?

Well it would have been strange not to do that. I understand people in France and in cycling might have that perception but the reality is that there's nothing there. The level of scrutiny I've had throughout my career from the press and the anti-doping authorities is unmatched. I'm not afraid of anything. I've got nothing to hide. There are seven cups in this room because of my hard work. My record stands. Now the agencies have stepped up their efforts - Wada, USADA, AFLD, UCI - and you also have all these independent agencies doing even more. I don't care if it's Don Catlin or Don Whatever … I don't. I will do whatever Don would like to do to validate the results. This next year won't be any different - even if people hate to hear that. I'm going to be focusing on every aspect of the bike, the team, the strategy, the training, the hard work, the sacrifice. There are no secrets. To the critics I would say, believe it or not, there are exceptional athletes out there. Michael Phelps, exceptional athlete. Paula Radcliffe, exceptional athlete.

Phelps hasn't had the same doubts about him as you?

Swimming hasn't had the abuse flung at it. I don't need to bullshit you. There has been a fair amount of suspicion around me, and a helluva lot of suspicion around the sport. With Michael Phelps if the guys who finished second, third, fourth and fifth were all busted then people would say, hey, wait a minute. He beat them all - how the hell is that possible?

On your last podium in Paris you said you felt sorry for people who doubted cycling and the integrity of yourself and the Tour - and then Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich got busted?

Egg on my face. Egg on my face. But look at the Brits on the track this year - absolutely outstanding. And still the head of French cycling said their performance 'is not possible'. Give me a break. Bradley Wiggins is the best fucking pursuiter of all time. I don't think he cheated. No! He's the most talented, he worked the hardest, he had the best position, he had the most knowledge, he won. So if I could talk to your cycling buddies I would say, 'Just fucking relax. We're not talking about God. We're not talking about war. We're not talking about you losing every dime you had. We're talking about bike-racing."

ON THE L'EQUIPE 1999 SAMPLE

How did you feel when you heard abut L'Equipe & The Armstrong Lie?

I remember the call. This house was still under construction and I was in the backyard with the contractor. At the time I thought, 'OK, whatever' - even if it was a big 'whatever'. There was hysteria and they got this big independent commission to investigate. Cycling, like the world, is very divided. One side finally said, 'OK, the independent commission cleared him so we're moving on.' The other side said, 'I don't believe the independent commission.' But the report was very clear and we were ready to go to the international tribunal with the lab, with Wada and the French government - and they declined. Now they come back and say 'OK, we'll now let you test those samples to prove your innocence.' [He pushes his cup of green tea towards me] OK, here's your sample, the lid is off of it. There's something in it and you, Don, your life depends on it, your credibility depends on it, but now I put the lid back on it. And now we come and we test it. Now nobody in their right mind - you, me, Barack Obama, your cycling buddies who don't believe in me, nobody, would take that test. The commission cleared me and L'Equipe itself said, 'The athlete in question has no way to defend himself.' They said that. I'm all for drug controls but if the athlete cannot defend himself? What kind of kangaroo court is that? No that's not the way you deal with things. I'm moving on. The commission cleared me.

ON THE OTHER ACCUSATIONS

So is Emma O'Reilly just a liar?

A lot of people have come in - well, not a lot but a handful of people, and we both know the names, Emma O'Reilly, Steven Swart, David Walsh, Prentice Steffen. And because there was so much litigation around this we sued David Walsh in the high court and we won that case. The prosecutor in Paris opened a federal investigation in 2000 and we were completely cleared. They retroactively tested all the samples, for the record, three separate labs tested those samples. One of the experts came back and said the samples were too clean, too clean. We had another SCA arbitration case in Texas and were vindicated again. All of this was evidence. George Vecsey of the New York Times said, 'Lance, why do you want to do this, why do you want to sue these people?' The SCA was over millions of dollars. I said. 'George, the beautiful thing here is that we have cross-examination.' Everybody was cross-examined. They can say one thing in a book or in article but under cross-examination it doesn't stand up. Their evidence does not stand up.

Betsy Andreu is another?

Betsy had no personal experience. Her husband lived, trained and raced with me and he said, under oath, 'I have never seen Lance take performance-enhancing drugs'. But go online and, to this day, Betsy blogs 24 hours a day about me. If that ain't sick, what is?

And in that room with the doctors, before your chemo treatment, you've said there were eight other people there who did not hear what she heard?

So you go with the eight and one of the most legendary doctors of all time. Had he heard that he would have probably made a note of it as it would've been central to the patient's treatment and the outcome. You have to do that. We turned over the medical files - she says we didn't - but we absolutely turned over all of my medical files.

So people just don't want to believe your story?

That's part of it. But, honestly where's David Walsh now? Those people are not even in my rear view mirror. But, yeah, they're still there. And that's the downside to this. They've gonna get the calls. People will call Walsh and 'say what do you think, David?' Same with Greg LeMond - that's his thing now, talking about me, that's his mission. But …

What about Michele Ferrari? You have a long-term bond with him, and being linked with him doesn't look too good?

Yeah. But more was made of that relationship than actually existed. And these are family friends. And I'm not going to kick a family friend out of my life. There are those relationships but look at the real data. The fact of that matter is that nobody had more scrutiny than me. It began in 1999 and it went all the way. This is what happens. The press asks questions, the testers start coming to the athletes house, the police start looking into it … and guess what the performance usually drops. The scrutiny only increased on me every year and my performance increased. I would have been a fool in 2005, the seventh tour, I would have been crazy to go out and cheat. I had all the money I already needed and the seventh win was insignificant - it makes absolutely no sense.

SCRUTINY OF SCRUTINEERS

You follow your critics on the net, almost checking forensically as to what they have said about you?

I read stuff from a competitive standpoint because sometimes one of your competitors might say something and that motivates you on your training ride but mostly it's healthy to read scepticism and criticism. But, again, it would be strange if I was just surrounded by yes-men. Life isn't that way - whether it's the life of a cyclist, or of a father, or an advocate or an activist. So I try to listen to some of that stuff but you can't let it get to you. The other problem with cycling is that so many people read the nameless stuff - the blogs, the comments, but if you look deep enough you see that there are three people who have posted 45 times. That's not a slice of reality. I used to dabble and look. But since I have announced my comeback I have not. I will read a news piece in the New York Times or The Guardian I will read it. But I will not read a blog by a nameless person or from someone called 'Big Chain Ring John 52'. That doesn't count.

But looking at the NYT, the Guardian, the Sunday Times still matters to you?

The Sunday Times I don't read - no. I read the big traditional cycling sites. And that sort of stuff we have to be more open. Transparency is important - but transparency is not, hey Don, move in with me because, guess what, I've got a life. I've got relationships and nobody, but Don Catlin, is going to be embedded in my life. My kids will be embedded in life. Will I be much more available for the press? Absolutely. I'm doing this Twitter thing. I'm Twittering now. I Twitter between three and 20 times a day. I'm gonna twitter that I did an interview with you.

REFLECTIONS

Have you reflected much on your last seven Tours?

I didn't think much about it then - or now. I can draw on those experiences for what I'm about to do now.

What was your best day?

What was my best day? L'Alpe d'Huez 2001- my best day. The whole bluff and then the attack. Physically the best day and emotionally the best day.

The best overall Tour?

Hard to say. The first was good.

Whereas 2003 was not so good with all those crashes?

I didn't like 2003 - too many crashes, too close for me. 2005 was also special - breaking the record. I got these cups in this room and upstairs I've got the seven jerseys but other than that - even today my bikes are in the next house, in the garage. I'm not obsessed with it.

How do you feel, physically and mentally, in November 2008 compared to November 2005?

I'm much better physically now. And mentally there is absolutely no comparison. I'm far stronger and much more motivated. The motivation of 2008 feels like the motivation of 1999. I was back from cancer then. I had the motivation of vengeance because nobody wanted me or believed in me. I was highly, highly motivated. I was pissed. That was the motivation. But this is just a motivation to work and train hard and go race.

Deep down do you clearly believe you can win an eighth Tour?

I have anxiety and insecurity about being 37. Let's not forget I'm the oldest tour winner in modern cycling history and that was four years ago. But that nervousness makes me work even harder. We're doing a training camp in December in Tenerife and another in California with big climbs. Normally I wouldn't smell a mountain until February so I'm starting early. But this won't be easy. I don't know what to expect. If I went to Australia and won - I'd say that was surprising, I might get my arse kicked. I don't think either of those things are gonna happen. Training camp will be good. I haven't tested myself against this current crop of professional cyclists. I'll have opportunity to ride with the best in the world.

Is five weeks between the Giro and the Tour long enough for you to recover properly at the age of 37?

[Grinning]: I have no idea if it's long enough.

Who do you see as your main rivals?

They're all on our team. On paper, assuming I'm strong as ever, you could see all three of us on the podium. That would be pretty cool.

What does your mom think?

She's excited.

And how's Austin these days?

There's no paparazzi in Austin! It's a very involved community - they love the Tour but it doesn't prohibit me. I pick up my kids from school every day, I go to restaurants every day, I go to bars with my buddies - not every day!

How do you feel about your celebrity status?

I personally can't stand it. That's why I live here. If you want it you go live in New York or Los Angeles or London. It's not a way for me and my kids to live like that. And I'm an athlete.

Has the monastic lifestyle kicked in?

My weight is in a good place. I usually start at 80kg and I'm at 77 now and haven't even started the year. At the Tour I'm under 74kg. At the start of the season hopefully I'll have just a couple of kilos to lose - which makes it a lot easier.

ON OCTOBER 2 [Anniversary of getting cancer]

Do you still regard October 2 as the most significant day of each year for you - with regard to your recovery from cancer?

Each October 2 I think about it - and other days too. But that day most of all. It's a very significant day. It's more of a party now. This past October 2nd my focus was on the future but I still have a healthy respect for the disease. I know that there is a lot of men and women who 12 years later they can relapse. They get secondary cancer or something else happens. Nothing says that you get it once and we clear it up and you got the rest of your life to live perfectly happy and healthy. The fact is that my chances of having a relapse, a second malignancy, are far greater than yours. So I have a ton of respect for the disease.

How often are you tested for cancer?

At least once a year I get tested but now, with the blood tests we do, I always get the test, and my tumour test is like a pregnancy test so we just add that into the bloodwork. In the last five years I've been tested about 3-4 times a year.

Do you still get anxious before each test?

It becomes less intense each time. I think I'd only worry beforehand if I felt some sign. And then about a year ago I had vertigo. Have you ever had it? It's weird. I lay in bed and the whole room was spinning and I felt really bad. Vertigo can really mess with you. So I went to the doctor for my blood work and I had to wait a day … so that was difficult. I felt weak and vulnerable. I felt something was wrong.

You've said the threatened loss of life and the pain of cancer taught you more than anything else?

When people have cancer it's black and white - they live and they win. They lose and they die. I take that same mentality into sport - to win. My friends on the team were always quite surprised that I wasn't that excited to win. They'd say 'Aren't you excited? You just won the Tour de France for the seventh time?' I was 'Yeah, it's pretty cool.' It would have been very different if I had lost. But now if I'm able to win again, any race, it might be different this time round. We'll see.

ON WHETHER HE WILL BE BACK FOR MORE THAN ONE TOUR

Will this comeback last more than one season?

I just don't want any restrictions. It's at least one year.

Have you noticed that the times on recent Tours have been relatively slow?

You can look at L'Alpe d'Huez and compare. Nothing can have changed - like they rerouted the road which might make it null and void. Certain climbs like L'Alpe d'Huez, Ventoux they will look at the times and know. But it could have been windy, tactically lazy … and [Carlos] Sastre's time wasn't so bad. He attacked and he got a good time. The others - the record will show - were slow. But the tape will show that they were looking at each other, jockeying for position, and that naturally slows things. This is the tricky thing about cycling and people saying he's guilty or not guilty by looking at how fast he climbed. Cycling is a sport of equipment, of pavement, of tactics, there are a lot of factors. But cycling gets picked on. I love swimming - I'm a real pool junkie so I watched all the Olympics and these people were not just breaking world records they were smashing them. And did you say why? No1 the human body evolves, training evolves, we improve over time. Duh! Shocker. Two. The suits. The Technology - it's a huge advantage. No3 - the pool. That pool was clearly faster than my neighbourhood swimming pool. Phelps was clearly motivated and all of that stuff makes up for superhuman performances but no one says anything about that. If you go up L'Alpe d'Huez faster than anyone else then it's a case of clearly you've cheated. Another example - 1999 my climbing bike weighed 21 pounds. 2005 - 14 pounds. They make so much of the average speed - this is the fastest tour so clearly they doped. That's an easy thing to say. The tough to thing is to say they repaved every road on the Tour de France this year, they took out traffic islands, they rode deep dish aerodynamic where the bike is 10% faster. Hello? You're gonna ride faster. All that adds to higher speed.

RIDING WITH ANGER

I guess you remember your anger in 1998 - was it a bike trade show in Anaheim?

No. Chicago 1997. We announced I was coming back.

And you got no offers?

[Laughs bleakly] No.

Are you riding with a similar anger now, wanting to vindicate yourself?]

Not like then. I'm older now - although I'm still a pretty fiery guy. It's not like that. But it's similar because they're both comebacks. But then I really had my back against the wall. I really didn't have much then. Now, to be honest, look at my life [gestures to the house] I don't have to do this. I've gotta a lot of money and I've got a lot of comfortable things in my life. I want to do this. I want to do it for me. I want to do it for my Foundation. I want to do it for eight million people who are going to die around the world this year of cancer. I just want to do it. This is not a F-U to anyone else. I just want to do this for me.

Would it not have been simpler just to say you're doing this as a pure competitor? You will raise funds for cancer anyway but some people feel that you saying you're doing it for charity provides an in-built excuse if it doesn't go well on the bike?

Well, we had the plan, this initiative, that we've been working on for two years now. It helps if I'm on the bike going to Australia, Europe, America, Asia, Africa. My participation gives that initiative real leverage so it would have been a lie if I'd said this is all about me.

POLITICS

Are you excited about Obama?

As an athlete you try to remain neutral but I think it's exciting. I will say that. And without tipping my hat to who I voted for … a new president, period, was going to be exciting. He brings a lot of excitement but also a lot of expectations - which could present tricky ground for him. But as a survivor he has been affected by this disease so I hope he reverses this trend we've seen in the US. For many years in a row they've cut back [on cancer funding]. They haven't made this issue a priority.

What about George Bush?

There have been people and historians saying how he will be reviewed. But he is a very likeable man and very charismatic in person. But as historians say he will be judged on Iraq, Katrina and this economy and you can't look at any of those and say there's a lot of good stuff about those right now. But he's a tough guy, very convinced that he believes he is right …

I heard you're aiming to be governor of Texas in 2014 ...

[He laughs] I don't know. All of this politics opens your life up and I'm not sure I want that ... there you go!

For more information about the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which unites people fighting cancer and provides practical information and tools for those fighting the disease click here